Movie Reviews

Hayward at her best rises about soapish material

03/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the film that made Susan Hayward a star. It is one of her top performances. Miss Hayward had been in Hollywood since 1938 or so and had really only done a slew of supporting performances. Then she got the lead in this and it was one of the biggest hits of 1947. She received the first of her five Academy Award nominations. And rightfully so, this film could have easily dissolved into typical 40's melodrama and tears, but Miss Hayward really manages to keep it a cut about all of that. She plays an up-and-comer singer who falls for another up-and-comer singer. They get married and she gives up her career to be a full-time wife and later mother. As her husband's star rises dramatically, she is often left at home while he's on the road, and of course taken for granted. Her husband's young woman business manager who travels with him and pines for him does not help matters. This leads to a severe drinking problem on Miss Hayward's part. As a result, her husband leaves her and keeps their child. Despite trying to sober up to make a professional comeback and to regain custody of the child, Miss Hayward suffers a relapse and both her life and the child's life are in danger. Not to spoil the ending, but it ends as any other 1940's film of this ilk ends.Yet, Miss Hawyard really keeps this from slipping into silly melodrama. She plays the ignored wife/drunk really well. She creates a tremendous amount of sympathy for the character, and the subtle slide into alcoholism is well-handled. There are some really nice musical numbers in this as well. The rest of the cast is good, and the movie is a little daring in parts. She socializes with her husband's male friends, her husband has a woman business manager, and (gasp) Miss Hawyward lives with her husband briefly before they are married. Racy stuff for 1947! Overall, this is a joy to watch. It is Susan Hayward at her best. The DVD is nice. The film is visually dark and this was actually distracting in parts, I'm not sure that this was some noir attempt or a bad transfer, but the sound is fine, particularly the songs. There are chapter selections that aren't much, and no extras. It's nice, however, that one of Susan Hayward's best roles is now available on DVD."

She was a star before she was a star!Q

M. farrell | sherman oaks, california USA | 08/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just watch Susan Hayward in this one performance and it's all there-----she had it before this film (her first shot out of the box for a producer who couldn't get anyone to tackle the role---and she made it hers forever. If you're a Susan Hayward fan you know what it's like to be just that----forever. For the talent, the attitude, the independence, the fire, the passion, the dynamic sense of humor-----they're all there and remain in your memories of greatness for as long as film goes thur spockets. Susan Hayward was, is, and always will be "a movie star". Always."

Smash Up: The Story of A Comeback

Perry R. Johnson | Atlanta, Ga. | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably the most important movie of Susan Hayward's career. Susan was only considered as a supporting actress to Paramount's leading ladies before she broke away from the studio and made "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman" with Walter Wagner's guidance. In the 1940's, when an actress approached 30 was considered an end of a career, Susan Hayward made a comeback. Susan Hayward was always the advisory to Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and others. Susan Hayward's best parts before Smash-Up were "Adam Had Four Sons," and "Among The Living." Susan will keep you entertained throughout the whole movie. True, Lee Bowman's and Eddie Albert's performances were wooden but Susan makes up for the movie with her strong performance. Susan earned her first Oscar nomanitation with this movie. Susan Hayward never gave a bad performance. However, if you want to know what are the best Susan Hayward movies, here are my favorites: Adam Had Four Sons, Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, With a Song In My Heart, I'll Cry Tomorrow, I Want To Live, Back Street* my favorite, Say Goodbye to Maggie Cole. P.S. Valley of the Dolls was great with Susan's performance but her part was smaller compared to the rest. See my review for Valley of the Dolls. Write to amazon.com and demand more Susan Hayward movies on dvd. Enjoy."

Start of a great career

Marvin Stone | St. George, Utah USA | 07/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Susan Hayward gives a bravura performance in her first starring role. It was clear from this film that she would someday be an Academy Award-winning best actress."

Susan, Susan, Susan

Stephen M. Moser | Austin, Texas USA | 01/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Susan Hayward, impossibly young and beautiful, in this Walter Wanger production, portraying Angelica Evans, a young chanteuse with the world at her feet, but who doesn't want the world. She wants Ken Conway, part of an unemployed singing/songwriting duo (sexlessly portrayed by Lee Bowman), but he is socially beneath her. As the effervescent star of a family of performers (who happens to like a little drinkee now and then), Angelica lacks the ambition to continue her singing career. It's easy to understand why - not having been around in 1947, it's hard to imagine that the kind of singing and dancing that Hayward does as Angelica could ever be popular in real life. But, we digress - suffice to say she gives up her career for love. Hubby, and his partner, played by Eddie Albert get jobs as singing cowboys on the radio (another mysteriously popular career in old movies), and he pens a special song - a hideously slurpy ballad called "Life Can Be Beautiful." Dispensing with the cowboy routine, hubby sings the song on his radio show one night and become an overnight success, a teen idol - this, of course, is a time when teen idols *weren't* teenagers themselves. He gets hooked up with a management company, and acquires an assistant, a little minx named Martha, wickedly played by Marsha Hunt. Little Martha takes over many aspects of hubby's life, rendering Angelica useless, except as a milk machine for the baby. A few little drinkee-winkees help ease the pain ("It puts *poise* in apathetic people," she tells us), but with the drinkees come the attendant drunken dramas and Angelica becomes an embarrassment to her pop star husband. Martha happily manipulates the situation, making sure that Angelica knows that she's no longer needed in every way possible. This culminates in a drunken slapfest at a party, resulting in hubby moving out. Proven to be an unfit mother, Angelica loses custody of her child and naturally dives deeply into the bottle. Drunkenly deciding to kidnap her child, she does so, and nearly kills the child by setting the house on fire with a cigarette. This brings Angelica and hubby back together again, Martha admits there was never anything between them - she just wanted Angelica to *think* so, and everything works out perfectly, with hubby understanding that his wife's alcoholism was caused by his lack of attention to her. Life can be beautiful. Indeed."